Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-10-26
THE WEEK OF SEVEN DAYS.

AS mas Deen remarked Dy the COM
mentators, and as is apparent to
careful readers, it would seem that
some notion of the week of seven
days was current among the people
whose history is recorded in very
early times, that is to say, at date
preceding Moses or any Of the books
written by him. The proof of this
is to be found in such passages as the
following: Genesis, xxx, q, where
Jacob is desired by Laban to "fulfill
her week." that is Leah's week, in
order that he might also receive
Rachel. The week appears to ex-
press the time given up to nuptial
festivities. So afterwards in Judges,
xiv, where Samson speaks of "the
seven days of the feast" So also on
the occasion of the death of Jacob,
Joseph "made mourning for his
father seven days." Genesis, l: 10.)
But "neither of these instances, any
more than Noah's procedure in the
ark, 60 further than showing the
custom of observing term of seven
days for any observance of import
ance." They do not prove that the
whole year or the whole month was
thus divided at all times and without
regard to remarkable events. They
do not indeed prove this, but they
suggest the division as common and
familiar and in some early period
recognized as an institution. When,
therefore, the children of Israel went
down to Egypt for what proved to
be very long sojourn in that coun-
try they possibly were familiar with
the practice of dividing time by
weeks, and at all events the notion
of seven days as a convenient por-
tion of time for the affairs of life
would not seem altogether strange
to them. It is exceedingly probable
that on arriving in Egypt they found
the week established by the practice
of the country. It will be observed
that it was in Egypt that Joseph
mourned seven days for Jacob, and
it is possible, though there seems to
be no necessity to assume the fact,
that in so doing he was conforming
to the custom of the country, as he
did with regard to the embalming
and chesting of his fathers remains.
But independently of any such con-
sideration, it would seem highly
probable that the Israelites found
themselves in Egypt among people
who divided the time by weeks of
seven days. We know that they
did so at later period; why might
they not have commenced as early
rs before the sojourn of the Israel
ties? The Egyptians were, in fact,
people very likely to be advanced
in such a matter as this; order and
government, both ecclesiastical and
civil, were undoubtedly in a re-
markable state of perfection at the
time to which referenceis now made,
and it would seem much more prob
able than otherwise that so conve-
nient an institution as the subdivis-
ion of the month into short periods
had already been established. 1t
may be noted with reference to the
number seven and its recognition in
some form or another as q special
number among the Egyptians, that
we have incidental evidence in the
dream of Pharaoh the special form
of the dream, as presenting seven fat
and seven lean kline, may be sup
posed to have been connected with
some familiarity in Pharaoh's mind
with the number seven during his
waking hours. And as regards the
Israelites, it may be observed that
the period of seven days is intro
duced into the most solemn event of
their Egyptian soiourn, namely, the
ordinance of the Passover. "Seven
days shall ye eat unleavened bread
even the first day We shall put away
leaven out of your houses ; for who
sover eateth leaven bread from the
first until the seventh day, that soul
shall be cut off from Israel."-The
Bishop Of Carlisle in the Contenpora-
ry ReUieaO.